Keep sanitary fittings in shape

Jagvir Goyal

With more money now in the hands of people, the quality of a product being used in their homes has become more important and this is particularly true in the case of sanitary fittings. But it must be noted that the performance of sanitary fittings depends more on the functioning of certain internal components of these fittings. Let’s have a look at some of these components:

Aerators: Condition of aerators fitted in the faucets determines the quality of flow of water from a faucet. A newly purchased faucet and fitted with an aerator will emit a milky stick like foam flow of water. Poor quality aerators get clogged very quickly and discharge of water from such faucets or taps is lesser, slower and erratic. The users are supposed to remove the aerators from the faucets or taps and clean them at regular intervals, but such a cleaning operation is hardly carried out by the Indian users. A house builder may fix a date, say, first Sunday of every month, to clean the aerators. He can remove all the aerators, prepare a solution of Harpic and throw the aerators in it for some time before taking them out, rubbing and washing them and then refitting them into the faucets.

Aerators of reputed brands are quite costly. It is, therefore, better to clean them at regular intervals to avoid permanent deposit of layers of calcium and salts present in the water on them.

In case you need to replace the aerators, you’ll have to locate the purchase bills as different models of faucets have different size and shape of aerators. If you can’t locate the bills, take along a mouth piece of each type to the dealer concerned. Aerators are sometimes not readily available with the dealers and you may have to register your order with them.

Mouth pieces: Along with aerators, mouth pieces of faucets and taps also need regular cleaning. Mouth pieces are screwed over the body of the faucets by rotating them in clockwise direction. Some portion of these is threaded and the balance portion is plain. Salts present in the water get deposited on the plain portion resulting in gap between the mouth pieces and the aerators. That’s why you’ll find streams of water emitting in many directions. Regular cleaning of inner face of mouth pieces is very important for quality flow of water from the faucets. Get the mouth pieces changed if the salt layers can’t be removed.

Reputed suppliers of CP fittings provide 10-year warranty for their products. You may ring up the customer care toll number and get the mouth pieces changed within the warranty period.

Check the showers: Don’t think that the overhead showers installed in the washrooms of your house are beyond your reach. These are very easy to remove. Generally shower plates are installed by screwing them onto shower pipes so that these can be easily removed for repair or replacement. Unscrew the old showers and replace them with the ones having silicon inserts. If the showers provided in your house already have silicon inserts, just rub the shower face well, wash with water and reinstall it in position.

Silicon inserts: Have you ever noticed that the holes of the showers installed in your house are not emitting water? This generally happens when a shower has not been used for a long period or its regular cleaning has not been done. As water contains many invisible impurities, these get deposited in the shower holes and clog them. To avoid such a situation, always buy showers fitted with silicon inserts. These silicon inserts don’t allow water impurities to clog the shower holes.

Health and hand showers: Health showers and hand showers normally have CP heads to emit water spray. These heads get clogged with water salts and turn whitish or greenish with time. Unscrew these heads and clean them well with CP solution. If it is not possible to clean them, get them replaced within the warranty period. Mostly, health showers are located near the water closets. Some people prefer to have both jet provision as well as health shower provision. As the seat jet is more convenient to use, health showers remain unused and get clogged with time.

Cartridges: Performance of stop cocks, jets, taps, faucets, diverters and all such fittings depends on the condition of cartridges fitted inside them. Only an authorised and expert plumber can unassemble a fitting and remove the cartridges to check their condition. Sometimes, the taps and faucets start leaking. Similarly, seat jets, too, start leaking sometimes. In all such cases, it is either the washer or the cartridge fitted inside the fitting that is causing trouble. Without waiting, lodge a complaint with your fitting supplier and get the cartridges replaced. If within warranty period of 10 years, these will be replaced free of cost by the company.

Bill & registration: Sanitary fittings and CP fittings are costly items. Always secure a bill and warranty card while buying these. If the invoice is printed on rice paper, keep its photo copy as the rice paper print will vanish after sometime. Sometimes, the seller allures you to avoid taking an invoice. Don’t fall in this trap and ask for the invoice as well as the warranty card. Not only that, register your bill number and mobile number at the toll-free number of the company. Get your name and address registered so that the moment you call them at a later stage, they know where to reach for providing necessary service.

— The writer is former HOD and Engineer-in-Chief, Civil Engineering Department in a Punjab PSU